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The Maple Leafs continue to show signs of improvement as they hit the quarter point of the NHL season.

In particular, their core players have given the impression they are committed to playing a three zone, pressure type of game. That commitment hasn’t always been there over the past several seasons; it’s now a big part of why this squad is actually starting to look like a playoff team despite a rash of distractions the past two weeks.

Here’s a look at the club after its first 21 games, and where they may be headed:

By the numbers

The Leafs rank first in the NHL in take-aways and winning percentage (1.000) when scoring first.

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Other numbers:

3.19 goals per game (Ranked 4th)

2.95 goals against per game (22nd)

84.9 per cent penalty kill (8th)

19.2 per cent power play (18th)

104.1 per cent pp-plus-pk

30.5 shots for per game (13th)

33.0 shots against per game (26th)

52.2 faceoff percentage (8th) – Montreal is first at 54.6

645 total hits (2nd)

330 blocked shots (6th)

186 giveaways (8th) – another primary focus for this group.

11 regulation plus OT wins (tied 3rd)

Improvements

The Leafs are showing good signs of strength at centre after years of questions.

Tyler Bozak is third in the NHL in faceoff wins (269) and third in take-aways. Peter Holland is seventh in take-aways, while Leo Komarov is first (23). Phil Kessel is looking at improving his 11th highest rating for giveaways (21); but the general numbers are not begging for massive improvement. Toronto also ranks second in the NHL with four short-handed goals. Toronto is currently using Bozak, Nazem Kadri, Holland, and Trevor Smith down the middle. But the Leafs can also have Mike Santorelli, Komarov, and Dan Winnik at centre, or just for taking faceoffs when needed. Bozak takes over 33 per cent of the team’s faceoffs, and is a sizzling 71 per cent on faceoffs over his last three games.

Roman Polak and Dion Phaneuf, are in the top 15 in hits, and Polak is 8th in blocked shots.

Leadership

Phaneuf definitely leads the team, but the Leafs have several other players who are influential. One big example was the team’s decision not so salute fans after a win last week, which appeared to be keyed by Phaneuf and Phil Kessel. The Leafs vowed to maintain the non-salute, but erased that decision the very next game — a win over the Red Wings. That turnaround appeared to come on the ice, spearheaded by words from veteran defenceman Stephane Robidas. A pessimist would say this means that the Leafs’ core group lacks maturity. An optimist would say that the presence of newly acquired veterans like Robidas, Winnik, Santorelli, Komarov and Polak will help steer the club more effectively. How this plays out in the dressing room could be another question.

Goaltending

Leafs fans can expect to see more of Jonathan Bernier in the Leafs nets, especially as they face a tough stretch of the schedule. Bernier’s performances have solidified; his start to the season was somewhat alarming, but he’s also shared more of the net than expected with James Reimer. That’s fine if the Leafs are going to alternate goalies, but that’s not why Bernier came to Toronto. At the moment, both Bernier and Reimer sport numbers that are relatively good, considering the overall inconsistency of the team’s defensive play. But the Leafs will need Bernier to establish himself, both as a true No. 1, and as a top 10 goalie in the league, for the Leafs to challenge for a higher seed in the playoff ladder.

Coaching

Randy Carlyle and his staff have made some good calls of late: cutting down the ice time of the top line; giving Peter Holland more penalty-kill time after the third-line centre approached them to ask for that opportunity; and helping Kadri through his offensive dry spell with smart line shuffles and continued power-play time. Carlyle also gave defenceman Cody Franson a career high 26:14 minutes of ice time Saturday against Detroit, which also marked Franson’s 200th career game as a Leaf. If the coaching staff can move the team forward in part by spreading ice time around, it will be a huge factor for the playoff drive. Right now, Bozak and Kessel have seen nearly two minutes cut off their ice time in certain games, while James van Riemsdyk has seen 90 fewer seconds. A key target is reducing Phaneuf’s minutes, and that’s a work in progress. Overall, Carlyle would like to have three forward lines with balanced play. The fourth line will factor in depending on its performance on a given night. Mostly, the staff has wisely utilized assistants Peter Horachek and Steve Spott, both of whom have huge reputations established with several Leafs players in the past (Spott and David Clarkson worked closely when both were with the Kitchener Rangers, and Clarkson has now surpassed his goal total from last season, and is shooting a healthy 18 per cent). Consistency in compete level and structure will be keys moving forward.

Scouting the Leafs

There’s no ready recipe to slam dunk the Leafs anymore. It used to be, right up to a few weeks ago, get the puck in and make them play defence – and wait for the turnovers and coverage collapses. But the Leafs are actually an improved team in own zone play, and physicality in all areas of the ice. They are tough to play against when they play structured hockey, and they now invite teams to dump the puck in. Toronto feels it can outwork the opposition in puck battles now, an area where they were exceedingly weak earlier this season. The veterans help, but a key is more physical play from young defencemen Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly. There has been a lingering question about Gardiner’s risky play, but he seems to be better when he can make short, quick passes in his own zone, rather than try and skate the puck out of trouble all the time. It seems the more physical he is in his own zone, the better he plays overall. That’s only going to make the Leafs a better defensive team. They appear to have turned the corner on the forecheck and back pressure. They are not so one dimensional any more.

What’s next

A very tough schedule for starters. The first 20 games have arguably been relatively easy on the club; they haven’t put in their best effort many nights, and still have emerged with 11 wins in the first 20 games. Now, the Christmas schedule is coming and it’s a tough one. Mix in a huge road trip post Christmas, due to the World Junior Championship in Toronto, and the Leafs have a monumental task ahead of them in the next 20 games. But they’re hitting it on a relatively positive note. Goaltending has been dragged back by some shaky efforts when the team needed more, but it’s solid overall.

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